Locked Away
by PhantomPierce-Okamoto
Summary: Mavis is fascinated with DarkSpriggan, a user she meets on her favorite online forum. She finds out more about him and is shocked, but she sets out to prove that her feelings for him wouldn't change because of his mistakes. (One-shot. Zervis AU, no relation to the song Locked Away haha)


**By request of my friends, I decided to post this one-shot here. I wrote this on tumblr for Halie, url proudtobeaginger. I'm rather pleased with it because I didn't give it enough time, yet same out decently. Hope you enjoy!**

Mavis logged on to the online forum. A relaxed, grateful smile spread across her face. Each day she got to come and talk was really a fortunate one.

Of course, DarkSpriggan had already logged on. He was active in several threads, making witty jokes and sharing insightful thoughts. Mavis' smile spread into a grin.

She began talking in a few of her regular threads. Her friends responded eagerly, and Mavis couldn't help but sigh in pleasure. They may never know each other's names or anything about each other, but they definitely made her feel at home.

A small beep alerted her to her private messages. A light blush painted her cheeks.

"Good afternoon, Zeref." Mavis typed in response to his simple, "Hi."

"How are you?" he replied.

"I'm fine. School was a bit annoying, but I did enjoy it. You?"

"Bland as ever. The conversation is never that thought-provoking until you log on."

Mavis patted her warm cheeks and notes the fact he once again refused to talk about his life offline.

"Thank you," she said simply.

After much conversation later, Mavis decided to finally ask what she had wanted to for months now. "Zeref, can we meet up?"

No response.

She waited ten minutes before sighing sadly. She switched back over to the forum tab, knowing she shouldn't have asked.

A gentle beep.

"Mavis, I don't think you want to meet me."

Her face scrunched, she typed, "Yes I do. What are you talking about?"

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do!" came her furious response.

"My name is Zeref Dragneel. Look it up."

She furrowed her brow and typed the name into the search bar. To her astonishment, her search came up with over seven thousand hits.

"Zeref Dragneel convicted of homicide."

"Manslaughter Criminal Behind Bars."

"Magnolia Penitentiary Subject Number 777."

Mavis' jaw dropped. Her eyes widened and lips quivered.

"Now do you want to meet me?"

Mavis didn't answer. The witty, intelligent man she had met over the Internet was in prison?

He had killed people?

* * *

Mavis had her purse slung over her shoulder, and walked to the elevator. Her apartment was on the sixth floor. Reaching the lobby, she exited hurriedly. She walked to the bus stop and got on the bus, checking the number. She swiped a bus card and sat in the front. Staring out the window, she steeled her quivering nerves and waited patiently.

At the very last stop, she got off the bus. She walked through the metal doors, almost taken back at the radiating depression.

She reached the desk. "I am here to see Zeref Dragneel."

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "In three months, the homicide criminal hasn't had any visitors. Who are you?" Mavis muffled a whimper.

"Does it matter?" she responded.

The receptionist shook her head. A guard came in and directed her to a small room.

Mavis sat on the chair staring through the glass.

 _He will be here soon._

Another guard led a dark haired man to the seat behind the window.

Zeref Dragneel looked up in confusion, then in realization. "Mavis?" he mouthed. Mavis picked up the phone. He picked his up.

"I came to see you," she said quietly.

Zeref's eyes were clouded. "Why did you come? Why would you want to be in the presence of a criminal?" he asked.

Mavis shook her head. "I'm here to see DarkSpriggan. The intellectual man who I speak with every day."

Zeref shook his head as well. "No, Mavis." he hissed. "I am who I am online. I am a criminal in real life."

Mavis pursed her lips. "I want to hear your story."

Zeref paused. "Really?"

"Really."

"On another forum, I made a name for myself." Zeref stated, almost confused by the notion someone would want to hear it. "I made a lot of theories and such. I joined a thread and began to talk about their topics. They would speak of premeditated murder over and over, and I was captivated. The idea of killing repulsed me, but the planning entrapped me. I accidentally helped three murderers plan seven murders, and I was declared a criminal."

Mavis nodded. "Is that it?" she asked.

Zeref sighed. "Mavis, I have a criminal mind. I belong here. You don't. I can understand if you don't want to talk anymore." He began to set down his phone.

"No!" she shouted. His hand paused. He pulled the phone back to his ear.

"Zeref, your intellect has entrapped me like premeditated murder entrapped you. I am just as much a criminal as you are. But inside, you are a good person. You didn't want someone to actually die, you don't want more to get hurt. That's why you stay here and don't ask for them to consider your case."

Zeref shook his head. "Mavis, I-"

"I won't stop coming here!" Mavis exclaimed. "Not until I convince you! Because I have fallen for you and your personality, your internal thoughts and feelings. And I won't stop until I can convince you!"

Zeref stared at her, mouth agape.

"I really have. And one day, I hope you'll fall for me too." Mavis wiped away a few tears, her eyesight blurry as more fell. Looking up, she saw Zeref with tears running down his face. His shock slowly morphed into a smile.

"Okay," he whispered. "Then I won't stop you. I have already fallen for you anyway, Mavis."

The two of them, with smiles and tears running down their faces, reached an understanding that filled even the dreary penitentiary with warmth.

 **Whew! Hope it was somewhat okay! Credits to my friend karifrompr for the title, which actually has no relation to the song. I don't even know. Um yeah, bye.**

 **~Phantom-chan**


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